Some faces you might recognize on the 2009-10 Flight Crew.
Jackie is a former New Jersey Ironmen Dancer and New Jersey Devils Dancer.
From the Ironmen press release:
The New Jersey Ironmen saw another one of their own advance their professional career this past weekend, as 2008-09 Ironmen Dancer Jackie N. was successful in the making the Flight Crew, the official cheerleading squad of the New York Jets. After three rounds of auditioning, it was this past Saturday that the Clifton native learned she will be performing her craft on the sidelines of the National Football League this fall.
At first we all assumed there would only be 22 spots on the team and there were 19 girls returning from last year,” Jackie N. commented about the moment she was learning of her fate. “They then came out and said there was so much talent that they would be expanding the team to 30 girls. That was when I realized I might really have a chance.”
To get to this point, Jackie N. had made her way through three rounds of tryouts. The preliminary round took place a week earlier and consisted of a 90-second freestyle dance in front of a judging panel. Roughly 160 girls had come out to the auditions, but only 73 of them advanced past the preliminary round to the semifinals. In the semis, the hopefuls learned a routine and a kick line, and they then performed each in front of the judges while also undergoing flexibility testing. After the semifinal round had concluded, only 30 girls remained standing for the finals. The final round of the competition consisted of a solo dance as well as a semi-routine and kick line performance in front of a celebrity judge panel.
After the three rounds had concluded, the judges broke for a two-hour conference that would keep Jackie N. anxiously awaiting their decision.
“I was just waiting and waiting,” she reflected. “I was hearing all of the numbers being read, hoping that I would hear my number. Once I heard my number, I couldn’t even get out of my chair. I went into shock, and then I started to cry.”
In addition to dancing for the Ironmen, the members of the Ironmen Dancers also serve double-duty as dancers for the New Jersey Devils, something in which Jackie N. was quick to express her gratitude.
“I am just so thankful to the Ironmen and the Devils for giving me the opportunity to build and grow as a dancer,” she graciously stated. “You can expect to see me in the crowd next year supporting both the team on the field and the girls as well!”
This advancement is the latest success story for the Ironmen Dancers. After the 2007-08 season concluded, they saw another of their own, Amanda Grace, make the Knick City Dancers.
Jessica, just finished up her season as a member of the New York Titans Dance Team, The Sirens.
Mimi cheered for the Miami Dolphins last season.
The Final Auditions for the 2009-10 New York Jets Flight Crew were held last Saturday
The Auditions were held at über-hip nightclub Pacha on West 46th Street (just down the road from the USS Intrepid).
And look who showed up…
A referee
Raggedy Anne
And if I am not mistaken, this is Elle Woods from Legally Blonde: The Musical.
Actually what happened was that all finalists put on a “show” with their own choice of music, costumes, props.
And hats.
Lots of hats.
Dancers performed every conceivable style from lyrical, to jazz to hip hop.
After the individual “show” performances. Dancers, in groups of five, preformed the routine…
and kickline they were taught last weekend.
They also showed off their splits.
Those white and green outfits are not Official Jets Flight Crew uniforms. The 2008 vets all decided to go out and get matching tryout uniforms.
Auditions judge and Bad Boy Entertainment recording artist gets a check up. All socializing with the judges occurred after the scores were tabulated.
Flight Crew veterans with Lilian Garcia, recording artist and WWE Diva.
Celebration at their names being called.
This is the toughest part for me. Everyone always says ‘Hey it must be really cool to cover auditions’. And it is, but then you see dancers get cut. And it’s even worse when vets are cut. And then there’s some photographer from the Daily News or the Post trying to get a reaction shot from someone who just found out she’s not coming back this year. Well, no photos like that from me!
There were only 22 members of the Flight Crew last year, but 30 ladies were invited to this summer’s Training Camp. They’ll spend the summer getting ready and hopefully earn the right to cheer the Jets on the field at the Meadowlands.
[Final Auditions Photos at Jets.com]
Three cheerleaders kick up their heels in tryouts for the Buffalo Jills
By Jay Skurski
Buffalo News
Think American Idol, without the snarky Simon Cowell. And instead of singing, it’s cheerleading that’s being judged.
In this reality show, the grand prize isn’t a recording contract, but rather a chance to cheer in front of 70,000 raucous fans at Ralph Wilson Stadium. More than 100 young women filled the Town Ballroom recently, auditioning to become the next team of Buffalo Jills.
Three emotional rounds of tryouts. Three would-be Jills.
There’s Rebecca, a 21-year-old from Lancaster who is a coach with the Lancaster Redskins junior cheerleaders. (There is a Buffalo Bills policy against disclosing the women’s last names.)
There’s also Jenna, a Rochester resident who wants to become a Jill to help make a difference in the community.
And finally there’s Kaitlin, a Grand Island resident who’s attempting to rejoin the team after a year off to deal with family tragedies.
“I remember as a little girl going to the Bills games,” Kaitlin said. “I didn’t care about the football, I was watching the cheerleaders. I knew right then and there that I wanted to be a Jill.”
She realized her dream two seasons ago, but the joy quickly turned to anguish. On the day Kaitlin found out she was chosen, her mother passed away. Ten months later, Kaitlin’s sister was killed in a car accident less than a mile from their home.
“I’m going in there to make my mom and my sister proud. I hope they’re going to be watching me. I’ll be doing this for them and myself,” said Kaitlin, who was a cheerleader with the Grand Island Junior Vikings, and continued on with the sport through high school.
“My mom got me started cheering when I was 5, and she always wanted me to do my best with it. That means being on the Jills,” Kaitlin said.
Except for the eight team captains, the previous season’s Jills must compete again for spots on either the 35-member dance team or 10-member group of ambassadors who appear at off- the-field events.
For newcomers like Rebecca and Jenna, making the Jills has been a longtime aspiration.
“In seventh grade, my dad was watching a football game and mentioned to me I could be a Buffalo Jill someday, so for the past 10 or so years that’s been my goal,” Rebecca said.
In typical Idol style, contestants went through three rounds of auditions. Kaitlin, Rebecca and Jenna were interviewed before and after their performances at the Ballroom.
“It was fun, but I’ve never been more nervous in my entire life,” Kaitlin said.
Jenna shared similar sentiments.
“It’s hard to know what my chances are going to be because there are so many girls and so many did so well,” Jenna said.
The best of the three in the Jills’ eyes was Kaitlin, who made the squad. Jenna and Rebecca were not so fortunate.
Even though she’s been there before, Kaitlin said being a Jill previously didn’t mean she had an advantage in this year’s competition.
“It’s a very difficult process,” she said. “I think it’s much more difficult for veterans because we have such high standards. I think you have to work much harder. You have to show people you deserve thats pot.”
On May 23rd the Jacksonville Axemen held their first scrimmage and the Axe Maidens were on hand to welcome & entertain fans. For some of the rookies it was their first opportunity to see a live rugby game. They took to the field for the first time to perform a routine then sold raffle tickets for prizes which included a $25 gift certificate to a sports bar and season passes to the Axemen games.
Greeting Fans
Selling tickets in the stands.
With a raffle winner.
From The Canadian Press
Sandy Topechka misses the adrenalin rush of the 1980s, running out onto the sidelines at Commonwealth Stadium to lead the Edmonton Eskimo crowd in cheers – but she doesn’t miss Novembers.
It was never warm enough, said Topechka, who was dressed in the velour green jumpsuit of the era at a news conference Monday to announce a 60-year reunion of Eskimo cheerleaders.
“Not when it was -30 C. We had little angora gloves and leg warmers and ear muffs, but it was still really, really cold.”
Still, Topehcka said the three years she spent shaking pompoms for the Green and Gold were the best of times.
“The minute you came on the field, the rush, the adrenalin, the fans cheering, singing ‘O Canada.’
“Going to the Grey Cup in ‘83 was the best.”
Eskimos Cheer Team Alumni Sandy TopechkaTopechka was among 30 Eskimo cheer alumni on hand at Commonwealth Stadium.
On Sept. 26, at halftime of the home game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, representatives from six decades of Eskimo cheerleading will perform to mark the diamond anniversary.
Irene Federuk was there from the beginning. The silver-haired octogenarian said she was recruited in the early ’50s to put together a majorette corps.
“All we did was the batons,” laughed Federuk, who said she signed on because she couldn’t think of a good reason to say no.
“It sounded like it would be great fun. I was only in there for two years but I really had fun.”
The team -dressed then in skirts, cowboy hats and sweaters emblazoned with a serif letter E – morphed from majorettes to cheerleaders by the mid ’50s, said Dianne Greenough, the current head coach.
The ’60s brought in Twiggy-esque green capes and skirts, followed by a lot more skin, satin and thigh-high boots in the disco days of the 1970s and early ’80s.
Three-year veteran Amanda R.
By the late ’80s, the acrobatic and stunt teams featuring co-ed cheerleaders took over, which has endured to the present day.
“The men hit sidelines, first in spandex – which did not go over well at all – and we will not ever be sampling that one (again),” laughed Greenough.
She said the current Eskimo squad is split into a dance team and stunt team, often travelling south of the border to compete in competitions and “show the U.S. that Canada has the athleticism and the moves.”
Amanda Ross, a member of the current team, said the reunion has been an eye-opener.
“Sometimes we don’t realize where we come from and how amazing they were back then,” said Ross, adding she’s partial to the ’60s uniform with the shimmering material and the cape.
“They’re more acrobatic,” said Topechka of the current squad.
“Definitely the stunting has grown a lot. It’s a lot more physical. We did more dancing back then, and now it’s more gymnastics.”
Topechka said something was lost, though, when the high boots of the ’80s were traded in for sneakers.
“To me it lost some of the glamour.”
Last weekend Mid-Atlantic Dance was at the Wachovia Arena Wilkes-Barre, when the Pioneers defeated the visiting Manchester Wolves 53-50. Dave sent us a few photos of the Pioneers Dance Team, the Pony Express and the Pioneers Stunt Team.
Victoria and Natalie
Alexis, Jocelyn, Brandi, and Erica
Taylor and Tanya
Talia, Danielle, Demi, Vikki, and Karissa
Kristen, Steph, Brittni
Brittany and Steph
Railey Mtn Lake Vacations in McHenry, Maryland is pleased to announce they are serving as the lodging partner for the Baltimore Ravens Cheerleaders for their 2009 training camp.
The Ravens Cheerleaders’ training camp will be held from Friday, June 5th through Sunday, June 7th at Garrett College in McHenry, Maryland. The public is welcome to watch the practice sessions. The Ravens Cheerleaders will additionally be making an appearance June 6th starting at 4:30 p.m. at Uno’s Restaurant and the Honi Honi Bar.
Railey Mtn. Lake Vacations has deeply discounted their vacation homes for the month of June and offers accommodations for anyone wishing to come to Deep Creek Lake during the Ravens Cheerleaders’ training camp weekend.
Photos of Ravens Cheerleaders at 2007 Training Camp courtesy of Pro Bowl Dan.
[Baltimore Ravens Cheerleaders]
I
t’s the season finale of The Amazing Race tonight, and former Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders Jaime and Cara are one of the final 3 teams. Not only do these MDC Alumni have a chance at one million dollars, they can also become the first all female team to win the race.
The Amazing Race airs tonight at 8PM E/PT on CBS.
Pro Bowl Dan was in Erlanger, Kentucky for the Final Auditions for the 2009-10 Cincinnati Ben-Gals and he sent us a few photos.
Last season there were 22 members of the New York Jets Flight Crew. This year the level of talent was so great among the finalists, that they decided to invite 30 dancers to Flight Crew Training Camp.
Congratulations Ladies! Photos from finals coming up later this week.
